Menendez sings and speaks out as he returns to Washington during break in corruption trial

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and Florida eye specialist Salomon Melgen were accused in a 2015 indictment of bribery and other crimes and have pleaded not guilty.
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After missing hearings and votes for nearly a month while on trial on corruption charges, Sen. Bob Menendez, right, attends a hearing of the Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.(Photo: Herb Jackson/NorthJersey.com)

Sen. Bob Menendez's return to Washington on Thursday included singing to a colleague before a committee meeting, delivering a floor speech about the urgency of helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria, and grilling nominees for posts in the Trump administration about the effect of trade deals on laborers and human trafficking.

With a recess until Tuesday in the corruption trial that has kept him in a Newark courtroom since early September, Menendez continued to face questions from reporters in Capitol hallways.

And as he has done many times before before, Menendez said he would not discuss the charges, except that he expects to be exonerated.

There was no sign that the trial affected how the Paramus Democrat's colleagues treated him, other than they were glad to see him after his absence.

As Menendez walked onto the floor for his first vote since Aug. 3, he got a hug from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that included each man patting the other on the back.

When Menendez popped onto the floor for another vote and then walked off, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chased him off the floor.

"I haven’t seen him in several weeks," Reed said afterward. "Bob is one of the most thoughtful people, particularly on foreign affairs. And the issues that are breaking, particularly North Korea and around the secretary of state and the controversy, we were chatting about that."

Menendez has missed 24 votes, but none was close enough for his absence to affect the outcome. He said one of the major bills during that time, the annual defense authorization, included a provision he was able to get in by working the phones with Reed's staff.

Menendez said the trial typically wraps up about 2:30 p.m. each day, and he uses the rest of the day to contact colleagues through staff or phone calls.

"So we're engaged with colleagues," Menendez said. "The difference is instead of being physicially here engaging them, we're on the phone engaging them. And I appreciate they've been very responsive."

Before a meeting of the Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday morning, Menendez sang "Happy Birthday" to Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, who took over as the panel's top Democrat after the April 2015 indictment led Menendez to step down from the post.

Those welcoming him back at the hearing included the Republican chairman, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.

"People respect so much his input," Corker said. "People were glad to see him there."

A grand jury accused Menendez of using his office to promote the personal and business interests of a Florida eye specialist because he received luxury travel, including flights on a private jet and more than $700,000 in campaign contributions.

"That’s going to be litigated, and that’s something that courts will determine," Corker said. "But as far as what he does here on a daily basis on the Foreign Relations Committee, he’s an outstanding member and we all appreciate the fact he was there today."

Corker recently announced he would retire rather than run for re-election next year, and at the hearing, Menendez appeared to choke up in saying he wished the Republican would reconsider his decision.

Menendez traveled to Puerto Rico last weekend after court testimony ended, and gave a 15-minute speech on the Senate floor Thursday that included enlargements of pictures he took of washed-out bridges, downed power lines and hillside buildings almost being covered by mudslides.

He mocked Trump's visit to the island territory, whose 3.5 million residents are American citizens, saying the president "continued to feed his own warped version of reality" and "took victim-blaming to a whole new level."

"Americans in Puerto Rico have no vote in the Senate," Menendez said. "I want to be their voice and their vote."

Menendez arrived in Washington on Wednesday afternoon, and along with speaking at a rally on immigration, he was one of a half-dozen Democratic senators invited to discuss Iran in the White House situation room with members of Trump's staff, including H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser.

Menendez battled with President Barack Obama's administration over dealings with Iran, and was a Democratic leader of an effort — which ultimately came up short of the votes needed for an override — to block implementation of a treaty designed to get Iran to abandon efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

"The president doesn't obviously like the agreement; I share that view with him," Menendez said. "And so i gave a series of suggestions as to how the president can both show his displeasure but do tangible things that actually would move the ball forward ... to get our international partners to ratchet up the pressure on Iran, particularly for all of their non-nuclear activities."